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By C. Blaine Cecil
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ABSTRACT
This paper proposes an alternative model for the primary source of silica contained in bedded sedimentary chert. The proposed model is derived from three principal observations as follows: (1) eolian processes in warm-arid climates produce copious amounts of highly reactive fine-grained quartz particles (dust), (2) eolian processes in warm-arid climates export enormous quantities of quartzose dust to marine environments, and (3) bedded sedimentary cherts generally occur in marine strata that were deposited in warm-arid paleoclimates where dust was a potential source of silica. An empirical integration of these observations suggests that eolian dust best explains both the primary and predominant source of silica for most bedded sedimentary cherts.
Bedded Cherts and Warm-Arid Paleoclimates in North America: The Empirical Relation with Eolian Dust
Among the numerous examples of bedded cherts occurring in strata that were deposited under warn-arid climatic conditions, five specific examples are briefly discussed herein. These examples include both shallow water epeiric sea and deep water trough depositional systems. Shallow epeiric sea examples include Early and early Middle Devonian cherts in the Appalachian Basin, Mississippian cherts across the North American craton, and unnamed Pennsylvanian cherts and cherty limestones in southeastern Nevada, USA. Deep water examples include the Devonian-Mississippian Arkansas Novaculite in the Ouachita Trough and Silurian-Mississippian Caballos Novaculite in the Marathon Basin. These five examples are highlighted in the context of the eolian dust model.
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Conclusions.--- Eolian dust appears to best explain the detrital quartz silt and silica contained within the Pennsylvanian siltstones, bedded cherts, impure limestones, and dolomites in Arrow Canyon where high pressure and aridity prevailed. In contrast, coeval paleosols (sequence boundaries), coal beds, and fluvial-deltaic siliciclastic sediments (Appalachian Basin) were deposited in the eastern United States in a belt of low atmospheric pressure and a humid climate (Cecil and others, 2003). These continentalscale observations are a further indication of the empirical correlation of bedded sedimentary chert with arid settings, atmospheric high pressure, and eolian dust.
Devonian-Mississippian deepwater novaculites and cherts: Ouachita trough and Marathon Basin (Arkansas and Texas)
Protracted periods of continental-scale deposition of cherts in shallow-water epeiric seas of North America occurred periodically over approximately 70 Ma from the Late Silurian or Early Devonian into the Mississippian. During this time, the sediment starved Ouachita-Marathon structural trend was a center of deep-water deposition of silica from Arkansas to west-central Texas (e.g.,, McBride and Thomson 1970; Lowe 1989). Sediment starvation in the Ouachita trough has been attributed to aridity and the consequential restriction of fluvial sediment supply (Cecil and Edgar 1994; Edgar and Cecil 2003). The deepwater siliceous deposits are referred to as the Arkansas Novaculite in the Ouachita Trough and the Caballos Novaculite in the Marathon Basin. Arkansas Novaculite.--- Lowe (1977) discussed the general stratigraphy of the Arkansas Novaculite as follows: a lower novaculite member, a middle impure chert member, and an upper novaculite member. The lower member is Devonian, the middle member spans the Devonian-Mississippian boundary, and the upper member is Mississippian. After noting the occurrence of silt-size quartz dispersed in all members, Lowe (1977) suggested that the silt was eolian in origin. He further noted that some of the silt grains appear to be partially assimilated into the chert or novaculite. This partial assimilation of coarse silt is a strong indication that the amorphous surface layer and the underlying disordered layer of quartz dust dissolved and served as a source of silica for chert-novaculite. Furthermore, the novaculite is thermodynamically stable relative to mechanically abraded quartz particles (Hemingway and others, 1991). Additional data from Hemingway and Nitkiewicz (1995) indicate that the authigenic -quartz should form diagenetically at the expense of both the surficial amorphous layer of silica and the underlying metastable disordered layer on eolian quartz silt. Lowes observations are fully consistent with the thermodynamic data and an eolian origin for virtually all the silica in the Arkansas Novaculite. Caballos Novaculite.--- McBride and Thomson (1970) provided a comprehensive review and summary of the various postulates regarding the origin of the Caballos Novaculite. They described five members of the Caballos from bottom to top as follows: (1) lower chert member, (2) lower novaculite member, (3) lower chert and shale member, (4) upper novaculite member, and (5) upper chert and shale member. They pointed out that the novaculite members are white and consist of nearly pure microquartz, similar to the Arkansas Novaculite, whereas the cherts and shales are variable in composition. They also noted that red shales in the chert members are the result of primary deposition of clay and unaltered iron oxide minerals. McBride and Thomson (1970) concluded that the Caballos is the product of biogenic precipitation, although they pointed out that it could not be demonstrated that more than 12 percent of the silica is the result of biotic processes. Conclusions.--- In contrast to earlier postulates for the origin of the Arkansas and Caballos Novaculites, the petrology, stratigraphy (including coeval chert in epeiric sea deposits), paleogeography, and prevailing conditions of aridity are consistent with eolian dust as the source of silica. Dissolution of the metastable fine particles of eolian silica likely served as a source of silica in solution for radiolaria and sponges, whose siliceous remains are observed as a minor fraction of the silica in cherts and novaculites. Furthermore, temporal and spatial variations in the composition and particle size of eolian dust can account for the variations in lithologies within the deep-water novaculites and coeval shallow-water cherts. The
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nearly pure novaculite members suggest a sand sea provenance that was comprised predominantly of clean quartz sand, whereas the iron-bearing shales and cherts may have been derived from red deserts. However, direct evidence for eolian transport is lacking. The partially assimilated scattered grains of coarse silt currently only provide a proxy for eolian transport of silica. Other lines of evidence, such as isotopic signatures and rare earth element concentrations are likely masked or obliterated by sedimentation and diagenesis. With more accurate age control on the various novaculite members, it should be possible to relate chert-novaculite lithologies to long-term climate variations. For example, it appears that deposition of the lower member of the Arkansas Novaculite was contemporaneous with the Devonian cherts and quartzarenites in the Appalachian Basin and elsewhere across the craton, whereas deposition of the middle member of the Arkansas Novaculite (impure chert and shale) was coeval with a pluvial event in the Appalachian Basin that spans the Late Devonian-Early Mississippian transition (Cecil and others, 1998; Cecil and others, 2002). The upper member of the Arkansas Novaculite is contemporaneous with chert deposition on the craton and the major Osagean-Meramecian period of aridity.
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as described by Knauth (1994, p. 251-253). Although the dust hypothesis for the source of silica for bedded cherts is preliminary, it may have future geologic application in such diverse topics as paleoclimatology, paleooceanography, paleogeography, and in exploration for chert reservoirs containing hydrocarbons.
Acknowledgments
Critical reviews of early versions of the manuscript by Thomas Ahlbrandt, John Dennison, Milton Heald, Richard Larese, Earle McBride, Robert Ryder, John Slack, and Christopher Swezey are gratefully acknowledged.
References
Banks, N.G., 1970, Nature and origin of early and late cherts in the Leadville limestone, Colorado: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 81, no. 10, p. 3033-3048. Cecil, C.B., Ahlbrandt, T.S., and Heald, M.T., 1991, Paleoclimate implications for the origin of Paleozoic quartz arenites in the Appalachian Basin: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 23, no. 5, p. A72. Cecil, C.B., and Edgar, N.T., 1994, Climatic influence on basin sedimentation; application to the Ouachita Basin: in Cecil, C.B. and Edgar, N.T. eds., Predictive stratigraphic analysis; concept and application: U. S. Geological Survey Bulletin, Report: B 2110, p. 59-62. Cecil, C.B., Brezinski, D.K., Dulong, F.T., 1998, Allocyclic controls on Paleozoic sedimentation in the central Appalachian Basin: US Geological Survey Open File Report 98-577, 75 p. Cecil, C.B., Skema, V., Stamm, R., and Dulong, F.T., 2002, Evidence for Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous global cooling in the Appalachian basin: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, no. 7, p. 500. Cecil, C.B., Dulong, F.T., West, R.R., Stamm, R., Wardlaw, B.R., and Edgar, N.T., 2003, Climate controls on the stratigraphy of a Middle Pennsylvanian cyclothem in North America, in Cecil, C.B. and Edgar, N.T. eds., Climate Controls on Stratigraphy: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 77, p. 151-180. Carozzi, A.V., 1993, Sedimentary Petrology: Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 263 p. Dennison, J.M., 1961, Stratigraphy of the Onesquethaw stage of Devonian in West Virginia and bordering states: West Virginia Geologic and Economic Survey Bulletin 22, 87 p. Edgar, N.T., and Cecil, C.B., 2003, Influence of climate on deep-water sedimentation: application of a modern analogue to an ancient system: in Cecil, C.B. and Edgar, N.T. eds., Climate Controls on Stratigraphy: SEPM
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Gutschick, R.C. and Sandberg, C.A., 1983, Mississippian continental margins of the conterminous United States: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication 33, p. 79-96. Haught, O.L., 1956, Probabilities of presence of reservoirs in the Cambrian and Ordovician of the Allegheny synclinorium: Kentucky Geological Survey, Series 9, Special Publication 9, p. 7-15. Hemingway, B.S. and Nitkiewicz, A., 1995, Variation of the enthalpy of solution of quartz in aqueous HF as a function of sample particle size: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 95-510, 5 p. Hemingway, B.S., Robie, R.A., Evans, H.T., Jr., and Kerrick, D.M., 1991, Heat capacities and entropies of sillimanite, fibrolite, andalusite, kyanite, and quartz and the Al2O5 phase diagram: American Mineralogist, v. 76, p. 15971613. Hesse, R., 1990, Origin of chert and silica diagenesis, in McIlreath, I.A., and Morrow, D.W., eds, Diagenesis: Geological Association of Canada, Geoscience Canada, Reprint Series 4, p. 227-275. Iller, R.K., 1955, The colloidal chemistry of silica and silicates: Ithica, N.Y., Cornell University Press, 324 p. Kolla, V., Pulak, K.R., and Kostecki, J.A., 1981, Surficial sediments of the Arabian Sea: Marine Geology, v. 41, p. 183-204. Knauth, L.P., 1994, Petrogenesis of chert, in Heaney, P.T., Prewitt, C.T., and Gibbs, G.V., eds., Silica: physical behavior, geochemistry, and materials application: Mineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy, v. 29, p. 233-258. Kronenberg, A.K., 1994, Hydrogen speciation and chemical weakening of quartz, in Heaney, P.T., Prewitt, C.T., and Gibbs, G.V. eds., Silica: physical behavior, geochemistry, and materials application: Mineralogical Society of America Reviews in Mineralogy, v. 29, p.123-176. Kurtz, A.C., and Derry, L.A., 1998, Mineral aerosols and the marine silica cycle: Constraints from Ge/Si: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 30, no. 7, p. 99. Lowe, D.R., 1977, The Arkansas Novaculite; some aspects of its physical sedimentation: in Stone, C.G., ed., Symposium on the Geology of the Ouachita Mountains, v. 1, Stratigraphy, sedimentology, petrology, tectonics, and paleontology, Arkansas Geological Commission, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, p. 132-138. Lowe, D.R., 1989, Stratigraphy, sedimentation, and depositional setting of pre-orogenic rocks of the Ouachita Mountains, Arkansas and Oklahoma, in Hatcher, R.D., Jr., Thomas, W.H., and Viele, G.W., eds., The Appalachian-Ouachita orogen in the United States v. F-2 of the Geology of North America, Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America, p. 575-590. McBride, E.F., and Thomson, A., 1970, The Caballos novaculite, Marathon region, Texas: Geological Society of America Special Paper 122, 129 p. Molinaroli, L., 1996, Mineralogical characteristics of Saharan dust with a view toward its final destination in Mediterranean sediments: in Guerzoni, S., and Chester, R., eds., The impact of desert dust across the Mediterranean: Dordrecht, Netherlands, Kluwer Academic Publishers, p. 153-162. Parrish, J.T., and Peterson, F., 1988, Wind directions predicted from global circulation models and wind directions determined from eolian sandstones of the western United States&A comparison: Sedimentary Geology, v. 56, p. 261-282. Pye, K., and Tsoar, H., 1987, The mechanics and geological implications of dust transport and deposition in deserts with particular reference to loess formation and dune sand diagenesis in the northern Negev, Israel, in Frostick, L. and Reid, I., eds., Desert sediments: Ancient and modern: Geological Society [London] Special Publication no 35, p. 139-156. Renton, J.J., Heald, M.T., and Cecil, C.B., 1969, Experimental investigation of pressure solution of quartz: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 39, p. 1107-1117. Sarnthein, M., Tetzlaff, G., Koopman, B.F, Wolter, K., and Pflaumann, U., 1981, Glacial and interglacial wind regimes over the eastern subtropical Atlantic and north-west Africa: Nature, v. 293, p. 193-196. Scotese, C. R., 1998, Quicktime Computer Animations, PALEOMAP Project: Department of Geology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas. Seaman, T.L., 2001, Extensive Mississippian bedded chert in the Antler foreland basin; silicification due to tectonically driven subsurface flow: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 33, no 3, p. 83. Sheppard, S.J. and Heald, M.T., 1984, Petrology of the Huntersville Chert: Southeastern Geology, v. 25, no 1, p. 37-47. Whalley, W.B., Smith, B.J., McAlister, J.J., and Edwards, A.J., 1987, Eolian abrasion of quartz particles and the production of silt-size fragments: Preliminary results, in Frostick, L., and Reid, I., eds., Desert sediments: Ancient and modern: Geological Society [London] Special Publication 35, p. 129-138.
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Wright, J., 2001, Making loess-sized quartz silt: Data from laboratory simulations and implications for sediment transport pathways and the formation of desert loess deposits associated with the Sahara: Quaternary International, v. 76/77, p. 7-19.
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Figure captions
Figure 1. Diagrammatic cross section of an angular silt-sized grain of quartz analogous to the maximum grain size in aerosols. Eolian abrasion induces silica structures that progressively grade inward as follows: 1) an outer amorphous layer, 2) an underlying structurally disordered layer, 3) an ordered core of -quartz.
Figure 2. Northeasterly winds from Iran and Pakistan transport dust plums over the eastern Persian Gulf (left center), Gulf of Oman (lower center) and northern Arabian Sea (lower right) (photo credit: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC 11-16-2003). Periodically, winds from the west and southwest also bring dust from the Arabian Peninsula to the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, and the northern part of the Arabian Sea.
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Ordered core
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Iran Pakistan